MinkFlamingos

Aug 2 Disney Villain Countdown: 10/40

**Spoiler Alert! Some villains are revealed in plot twists, so if you haven't seen all the movies...**

I'm here! What were your other two wishes?

Fear/Intimidation FactorThis is Gothel's comparatively low score. Gothel is... a witch? Sort of? But her only magic comes from leaching it away from the flower and then Rapunzel in order to stay young. For somebody who's been around as long as she has, you'd think she'd be a little more clever or figure out how to shoot lightning bolts out of her fingertips or something.

Gothel always does her daily affirmations

Character DesignGothel is remarkably... human... and normal-looking. Oh, for sure she's got some 80's Cher going, but her dress is simple and period appropriate, nothing particularly sinister. The brilliance of Gothel's design comes in her expressiveness. Gothel is also, visually, in an almost common state of flux as she rapidly ages when she's away from Rapunzel's magic. Still, not a peak score. Those are still to come.

Mommy Guilt- Master Level Unlocked

Yes, indeed.

Wit & QuotabilityWhat's that you're looking at? The Ceiling. Oh, sorry, that's because Gothel just cold-cocked you with some of the most cleverly written villain dialogue in Disney history. Gothel is not the queen of the one-liner, she is the master of dialogue. Every single word out of her mouth serves to further the audience's understanding of the true depths of her selfishness. Sometimes she's funny, sometimes she's so real you'll flinch because at some point YOU'VE MET THIS WOMAN IN YOUR REAL LIFE.

All this amazingness has really taken a lot out of Gothel

Passive-aggressive Mommying at its finest

MemorabilityGothel is one of the most well-written villains. Most villains start out evil and just stay that way; Gothel has a true character arc that allows the audience to watch her descent into true villainy. Gothel is a living embodiment of vanity, at the expense of developing any other aspect of her personality or empathy (essentially, she's a sociopath). When the flower that's keeping her alive transfers its magic to Rapunzel, she does not hesitate to steal Rapunzel away from her home. Gothel could have chained Rapunzel up in a cage, shoved bread and water on her, and just continued to steal her magic. Instead, she tries to love Rapunzel. It's largely a failed experiment, Gothel is utterly incapable of truly caring about anyone other than herself, but she TRIES. Rapunzel is clean, well-fed, well-mannered, sheltered perhaps but not mistreated. Other than kidnapping, there's nothing that Gothel has done when we start the story to warrant a gruesome Disney Villain death. Gothel EARNS that death as we watch her go to further and further lengths to serve her own vanity. It's not until the climax, when Gothel takes the leap into murder (and, ahem, Pascal-abuse) that she finally attains true villain status. Gothel may not be mother of the year, but she was a mother (and, still, better than many that we see on TV) and Rapunzel was shaken by her death in spite of everything. Dayummmm, Disney. That is DEEP (you know, for Disney).

Wait, you want to celebrate EVERY time? Ugh.

SidekicksGothel enlists the twins to help play out a very small portion of her machinations, but I chose to just go neutral here since they don't really add much to the story and barely talk.

Gothel has no filter, and it is wonderful.

SongBow down for your are in the presence of true greatness. "Mother Knows Best" is not only catchy and engaging, every word is brilliantly written and perfectly in character with who Gothel is. It's also FUNNY. I'm just sayin'... CUZ I WUVVVV YOUUUUUU.... Gothel, ever the overachiever, takes a more menacing turn as she delivers her reprise later in the film. So. Good. We're not worthy.